International condemnation was mounting on Israeli occupation government over its plans permit construction of 1,100 new homes in the illegal Israeli settlement of “Gilo”.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) issued a statement Thursday condemning “Israel’s” decision, saying: “Israel’s decision raises serious suspicions about its sincerity and true intentions. This is a flagrant violation of international law and is not acceptable,” said the MFA.

In the official statement Turkish government in Ankara announced that “Israel’s continued construction of illegal settlements in Palestinian lands shows once more that the Palestinian demand to be recognized as a state at the United Nations is justified and timely.”

Turkey, which strongly supports the Palestinian statehood bid, also urged the international community to do the same in the announcement.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected Western and Arab complaints that the planned construction of 1,100 new homes in the illegal Gilo settlement would complicate Middle East peace efforts.

“Gilo is not a settlement nor an outpost. It is a neighborhood in the very heart of Jerusalem about five minutes from the Centre of town,” Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev said.

Britain and EU called on Netanyahu to reverse the decision, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said new settlement building would be “counterproductive”.

International condemnation

Also on Wednesday, China, Egypt, Russia and other major powers also voiced their opposition.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohammed Amr also denounced the plans in a statement issued from Washington.

“Such an Israeli step reflects the country’s intention to continue with its provocative policy and defiance of the international consensus regarding the illegitimacy of settlement activities,” he said.

Russia too, called on Israel to reconsider.

“We are particularly concerned that decisions on such a sensitive matter should be taken at an extremely important time for the future of the peace process,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We are counting (on Israel) so that the construction projects in east Jerusalem are reviewed.”